


Countermeasures

by Timemidae



Series: Episode Related Mini-fics [7]
Category: The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (TV)
Genre: Alcohol, Emetophobia warning but not graphic, Episode: s01e14 The Terbuf Affair, Gen, M/M, Mild theoretical slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-13 16:53:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29654364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Timemidae/pseuds/Timemidae
Summary: Gapfill for Act II of the Terbuf Affair. Slivovitz is typically 50 to 90 percent alcohol by volume. Something's got to give.
Series: Episode Related Mini-fics [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1232678
Kudos: 6





	Countermeasures

It was a waste of good slivovitz, and he hadn’t even had an expense account to put it on.

Illya had no categorical objection to binge drinking on holiday. Under other circumstances, he would have enjoyed himself. He appreciated the atmosphere in the dimly lit bar, its mingled scents: strong liquor, drying sausages, men’s sweat.

He didn’t imagine he could have convinced Napoleon to join him in a dive like this; nothing of the sort had featured in their original itinerary. Still, they could have found a quiet taverna, sipped amaro until time turned slippery and the city lost its shape and they stumbled together back to their hotel. Napoleon wasn’t exactly withholding when it came to touch, but it would have been nice, Illya thought, to lean against each other when neither was injured, to feel a strong hand on his shoulder, steering him through the Roman night.

Enough. Illya shook himself. He had a job to do. He didn’t take orders from that woman, but a life was at stake, a man whose only crime was in having been born with the misfortune of a conscience in a world of corruption and greed.

Beyond enough. If he was getting philosophical already, he’d clearly put his task off too long. His window of opportunity was rapidly closing. He drew a breath, savoring the flavor of plums on his tongue. A damned waste. Illya sighed and reached a finger toward the back of his throat, preparing to make himself sick. 

**Author's Note:**

> Just saying, if I drank as much Slivovitz in one go as Illya does in this episode, I would be deceased. I feel like there should be some explanation (beyond national pride) as to why he doesn't seem remotely affected.


End file.
